International Religious Freedom Report for 2013Korea, Democratic People's Republic
ofUS Department of StateAlthough the constitution and other laws and policies provide for religious freedom, in practice, the government severely restricted religious activity, except for some officially recognized groups that it tightly supervised. Genuine religious freedom did not exist. Government practices continued to interfere with individuals’ ability to choose and to manifest their religious beliefs. The government continued to repress the religious activities of unauthorized religious groups. Reports by refugees, defectors, missionaries, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) indicated that religious persons who engaged in proselytizing and those who were in contact with foreigners or missionaries were arrested and subjected to extremely harsh penalties, including execution. South Korean media reported that North Koreans were executed for religious activities. Due to the country’s inaccessibility and lack of timely information, arrests and punishments remained difficult to verify. The government allowed foreigners to attend government-sponsored religious services.There were no reports av…

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Marzuki DarusmanThe Special Rapporteur shares his initial thoughts
about the direction he intends to take in fulfilling his mandate, building on
the findings and recommendations of the commission of inquiry on human rights
in the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea. He stresses the
international law implications of the commission’s findings and the
responsibility of the international community to protect.The Special Rapporteur also highlights the responses
by the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, including some
opportunities for engagement presented by the Government’s latest position on
the recommendations made at the universal periodic review. He also discusses the
qualitative differences in responses required of the Member States,
neighbouring States and other States concerned, and the United Nations system,
involving also the realignment and strengthening of civil society work and
people-to-people contacts.

The report of HRNK, Illicit: North Korea's Evolving Operations to Earn Hard CurrencyIn Illicit: North Korea’s Evolving Operations to Earn Hard Curre­­ncy, Sheena Chestnut Greitens provides a detailed and thoroughly researched account of the role of illicit activities in the North Korean economy. A central conclusion of Chestnut Greitens’ analysis is that in the context of eroding state control over the licit aspects of the economy, illicit activities are also being “privatized” by North Korea’s elite. Sheena Chestnut GreitensApr 15, 2014

BRING NORTH KOREA TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT, SAY CONSERVATIVE PARTY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION13 May 2014The Conservative Party Human Rights Commission today released a report calling on the British Government to lead a campaign to bring North Korea to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.The report, Unspeakable and Unparalleled: North Korea’s Crimes Against Humanity, draws on evidence provided to the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission in three public hearings chaired by Fiona Bruce MP, and addresses the human rights violations perpetrated by the regime in North Korea, the refugee crisis, steps to break the regime’s “information blockade”, and ending impunity. It follows the UN Commission of Inquiry report, published in February, and the Human Rights Council’s resolution on North Korea in March.Released ahead of a debate in Westminster Hall this afternoon on human rights in North Korea tabled by Andrew Selous MP, the report contains 13 recommendations, including that the BBC World Service should “establish a radio broadcast to the Korean Peninsula” and the United Kingdom should “increase pressure on China to end its policies of forcib…

Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - A/HRC/25/63 Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea -­ A/HRC/25/CRP.1

Michael Kirby, the chair of the COI on human rights in the DPRK, gave the first oral update about the human rights situation in North Korea at the 24th session of the Human Rights Council on September 16th, 2013.

Amnesty International have released their annual report for 2013. In the section on North Korea, Amnesty finds that "Systematic human rights violations remained widespread." The report is a summary of the human rights situation of the past year in the country. The food crisis, although somewhat abated by improved harvests, continues. Amnesty's report states, "Chronic malnutrition continued to plague most people, with several reportedly dying of starvation." The report draws attention to two high-profile cases of arbitrary arrest and detention: Kenneth Bae and Shin Sook-ja. It outlines the reasons for their detention and a response from the regime on the whereabouts of Shin Sook-ja. The report states that North Korea places harsh restrictions on freedom: "The authorities continued to impose severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, opinion and assembly." In summary, Amnesty wrote that, "The food crisis persisted, with chronic and widespread malnutrition still a public health concern. Millions faced continued food insecurity and remained dependent on food aid. Despite reports that one political prison camp had closed, tens of thousands remained detained in su…

The U.S. State Department has released its "Country Reports for Human Rights Practices for 2012." The report features a significant section on North Korea and its violations of human rights. It comments that "Human rights conditions in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) remained deplorable."The report states that although there continues to be a constant stream of testimonies of human rights violations, the regime failed to prosecute a single official for human rights abuses. The report extensively outlines some of the reports of human rights abuses in the country, which are largely sourced from other reports.

The
British Government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office have just
released their annual edition of "Human Rights and Democracy,"
a report outlining the state of human rights and democracy around the
world in 2012. The report finds "little improvement in the human
rights situation in the DPRK in 2012."As
there are continuing reports of widespread human rights violations in
North Korea, the report comments on how the UK has engaged with the
regime on human rights over the last year. In particular, the British government have
repeatedly raised concerns with the North Korean authorities about
prison camps. Engagement on improving the human rights situation has
gone beyond mere dialogue.The
British government invited North Korean officials to witness the
British judicial system; this invitation was accepted and North
Koreans went to visit British courts. Junior North Korean officials
were also given English-language training via a British government
program. As well as engaging with the regime with various programs,
the UK also used their position at the UN this year to support
investigations into North Korean human rights.At
the UN General Assembly, the UK co-spons…

Marzuki Darusman, Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, recently filed his report on the human rights situation in the country at the 22nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The report took stock of a number of different reports on human rights in North Korea to present as in-depth a report as possible. Included in the report is evidence from 22 reports created by the Special Rapporteur and Secretary-General since 2004, 16 resolutions adopted by the UN, concluding observations from a number of UN bodies, and the Universal Periodic Review.
Mr. Darusman's report identifies 9 patterns of violations of human rights. The 9 patterns, it has been observed by a number of parties, may constitute crimes against humanity.
His report concludes recommendations for future steps for dealing with the human rights issues in North Korea. Moreover, he calls for “A detailed examination and legal analysis of whether crimes against humanity are being perpetrated in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as well as violation against foreign national such as abductees.”

Human rights situations that require the Council’s attentionReport of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Marzuki Darusman
In his statement to the Third Committee of the General Assembly in November 2012, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea called on Member States and the international community to undertake a comprehensive review of the many reports on the human rights situation in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea submitted under his mandate and by the Secretary-General over the past eight years to assess the underlying patterns and trends, and consider setting up a more detailed mechanism of inquiry. The present report provides a comprehensive review of United Nations documentation and resolutions on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea since 2004.
In addition to a total of 22 reports by the Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea since 2004, and 16 resolutions ado…